JD Vance says ’21-hour US-Iran talks end with no deal’, attributes efforts to Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stressed on Sunday that the United States and Iran should remain committed to the ceasefire as talks ended without an agreement.

“It is imperative that the parties continue to maintain their commitment to the ceasefire,” Dar said during a press conference as US Vice President Vance departed this morning after announcing the conclusion of talks without any results.

Dar expressed his deep gratitude to Iran and the United States for responding to the call made by Prime Minister Shehbaz for an immediate ceasefire in the region and accepting the invitation to hold peace talks in Islamabad.

He further expressed gratitude to the two sides for appreciating Pakistan’s efforts in helping achieve the ceasefire and its mediation role.

Dar said: “I, along with Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, helped mediate several rounds of intense and constructive negotiations between the two sides, which continued for the past 24 hours and ended this morning.”

He said Pakistan hopes that the two sides will continue in a positive spirit to achieve lasting peace and prosperity for the entire region and beyond.

“Pakistan has played and will continue to play its role in facilitating engagement and dialogue between Iran and the United States in the coming days,” he added.

Earlier, US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan after announcing that intense talks with Iran failed to reach a deal, but appreciated Pakistan’s efforts.

“We’ve been at this for 21 hours and we’ve had a series of substantive discussions with the Iranians. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we haven’t reached a deal, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than bad news for the United States of America,” he said during a news conference in Islamabad.

Vance also thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz and CDF Field Marshal Munir, saying: “They were both incredible hosts, and whatever the shortcomings of the negotiation, it was not because of the Pakistanis who did an incredible job and really tried to help us and the Iranians close the gap and reach an agreement.”

He stated that the simple fact was that there needed to be a clear and affirmative commitment that they would not pursue a nuclear weapon or seek the tools that would allow them to develop one quickly.

“That is the central objective of the president of the United States, and that is what we have tried to achieve through these negotiations. Once again, their nuclear programs, as they are, the enrichment facilities that they had before, have been destroyed,” he added.

The US vice president stated that they had made their red lines clear, specifying what they were willing to accommodate and what they were not. “We have made it as clear as possible and they have chosen not to accept our terms.”

Vance further said he had spoken to President Trump up to a dozen times during the talks. “We talk to the president constantly. I don’t know how many times we talked to him: half a dozen times, a dozen times in the last 21 hours. Obviously we also talked to Admiral Cooper, to Pete, to Marco, to the entire national security team. We talked to Scott Bissett several times,” he said.

He said they were constantly in communication with the team as they were negotiating in good faith, saying: “We are leaving here, and we are leaving here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding, which is our best and final offer.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz announced that Iran and the United States, along with their allies, had agreed to an immediate ceasefire “everywhere, including Lebanon,” effective immediately. The prime minister invited delegations from both nations to Islamabad to negotiate a conclusive agreement.

A day earlier, delegations from the United States and Iran arrived in Pakistan to reach a conclusive agreement. Prime Minister Shehbaz met the delegations and affirmed Pakistan’s sincere determination to continue its mediation role.

The Iranian delegation was led by President Bagher Ghalibaf and assisted by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while the American delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, along with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The United States and Israel launched a joint offensive against Iran on February 28, killing thousands of people in Iran, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and leaving tens of thousands injured, including civilian areas, including residential buildings and religious sites.

The conflict also expanded geographically. Iran retaliated with drone and missile attacks against Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. It also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

To ease tensions, Pakistan had also organized a quadrilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Islamabad, with representatives from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The meeting caught the attention of the world and was widely appreciated for Pakistan’s efforts.

Pakistan and China also jointly proposed a five-point initiative aimed at restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and the broader Middle East.